At PayLeap, we understand the decision to utilize online payment technology may still make some businesses weary. Because PayLeap takes great pride in keeping our users’ information safe and their transactions secure, we’re happy to introduce you to another organization that is also concerned about the safety of the ecommerce payment gateway industry: the Merchant Risk Council.
The Merchant Risk Council (MRC) is a merchant-led trade association focused on ecommerce risk and payments – is dedicated to working with ecommerce and multi-channel merchants, online payment processors, credit card issuers, card companies, alternative payment providers, risk management providers and law enforcement to make the Internet a safer and more profitable place to do business (Merhant Risk Council).
The MRC was created in 2002 when two similar committees came together. The Merchant Fraud Squad was established in 2000 by American Express, ClearCommerce and Expedia. Its main goal was to inform online merchants on how to avoid fraudulent operations. Later, in 2002, the Internet Fraud Round Table was formed. The group of retail merchants met twice a year in face-to–face meetings to share business endeavors.
When the membership of both groups continued to expand, the two united to form the Merchant Risk Council. Today, the MRC is comprised of over “7,500 members, [and] is the leading trade association for managing payments, preventing online fraud and promoting secure ecommerce.”
In a recent study, the MRC evaluated positive trends in the “rapidly maturing” ecommerce industry:
- Consumer confidence levels are at an all-time high for online purchasing.
- Online sales continue to out-pace all other revenue channels for the vast majority of multichannel
merchants.
- The number of merchants falling under the umbrella of ecommerce is steadily increasing.
- Online categories, industries and vertical markets are rapidly expanding (social networking, digital downloads and gaming among many others).
Like the MRC, PayLeap is confident and vigilant in the advancement and continued security of online payment processing.
Tags: ecommerce industry news, ecommerce merchant account, ecommerce payment gateways, ecommerce solutions, merchant risk council, Online Payment Processing, online payment processor, security
